Struggles and Desires in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Unlike character, characterization can be defined as methods an author uses to create the characters. Two examples an author can use are direct characterization where a character is directly described by the author, and indirect characterization where the character is revealed by their actions, reactions of other characters, thought, and speech. There are a few scenes in the play where the author directly describes a character. One example of major direct characterization comes from scene one in which Stanley is first introduced and described. Tennessee Williams writes, “Branching out from this complete and satisfying center are all the auxiliary channels of his life, such as his heartiness with men, his appreciation of rough humor, his love of good drink and food and games, his car, his radio, everything that is his emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer.” (Williams 84). His description of Stanley gives the reader a picture of how he acts and how he will act throughout the rest of the story. Much of the indirect characterization of the play can also be centered around the heated topic of sensuality. Blanche is an important character whose characterization heavily relies on her actions related to sensuality, and other’s reactions to her actions. “Blanche waltzes to the music with romantic gestures. Mitch is delighted and moves in awkward imitation like a dancing bear.” (Williams 97). This quote shows the relationship between Blanche and Mitch, a potential love interest, after she

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a play about a woman named Blanche Dubois who is in misplaced circumstances. Her life is lived through fantasies, the remembrance of her lost husband and the resentment that she feels for her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski. Various moral and ethical lessons arise in this play such as: Lying ultimately gets you nowhere, Abuse is never good, Treat people how you want to be treated, Stay true to yourself and Don’t judge a book by its cover.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams uses setting to illustrate various themes and messages as they pertain to the events of the play. The setting plays a crucial role in the story line and the outcome of the play.

In his plays, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams uses different ways to show in the play of social realism. It show each of individual character and focusing on how particular way of viewpoint contrast with men, and the perspective of looking at women. The play explores struggle of two character Stanley and Blanche, between appearances and reality which made the play’s plot more affected reality. Throughout this play, it show the symbolize of the gender roles and the power of men over women in the 1940’s in New Orleans.

Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a web of themes, complicated scenarios, and clashes between the characters. Therefore, it might’ve been somehow difficult to find out who the protagonist of this play is if it wasn’t for Aristotle’s ideas of a good tragedy because neither of the main characters, Stanley Kowalski and Blanche Dubois, is completely good nor bad. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, a good tragedy requires the protagonist to undergo a change of status which only happens with Blanche Dubois.

creates a dilemma for Blanche; she has never been rejected before, and I think this creates sexual tension between Stella and Stanley. It creates an atmosphere between them which comes to its climax towards the end of the play (scene ten), where Stanley says “we’ve had this date with each other from the beginning”.

A Streetcar Named Desire is a socially challenging play in light of the way in which Tennessee Williams depicts the capacity of human nature for brutality and deceit.  He takes the viewpoint that, no matter how structured or 'civilized' society is, all people will rely on their natural animal instincts, such as dominance and deception, to get themselves out of trouble at some stage in life.  William's has created three main characters, Blanche Dubois, Stella Kowalski and Stanley Kowalski. Each of these characters is equally as civilized as the next, yet all are guilty of acts of savagery on different levels.  Throughout the play Williams symbolically relates these three characters to animals, 'savages,' through the disclosure of

     In Tennessee William’s masterful play, A Streetcar Named Desire, the reader meets a middle – aged woman by the name of Blanche DuBois. Blanche lives in her own faerie tale world, one of a young, beautiful debutante, surrounded by admirers, and loved by all whom she encounters. In reality, Blanche is an aging woman who cannot cope with the actualities of life. She makes up wild stories, and when Stanley Kowalski, her brother – in – law, rapes her, the realities of life cause her to drift into absolute lunacy.

The play A Streetcar Named Desire revolves around Blanche DuBois; therefore, the main theme of the drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the tragedy of an individual caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present. The final result is her destruction. This process began long before her clash with Stanley Kowalski. It started with the death of her young husband, a weak and perverted boy who committed suicide when she taunted him with her disgust at the discovery of his perversion. In retrospect, she knows that he was the only man she had ever loved, and from this early catastrophe

Tennessee Williams was an American writer known for short stories and poems in the mid 1950’s. His more famous writing was A Streetcar Named Desire. His writings influenced many other writers such as August Strindberg and Hart Crane. His writings A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie was adopted to films and A Streetcar Named Desire earned him his first Pulitzer prize. In A Streetcar Named Desire there is many elements that build the plot and story line. The story is about a girl who is drove crazy by his sister’s husband and eventually sent to the mental hospital. The main plot is towards the end of the story when Blanche Dubois is blackmailed by her sister’s husband and raped by him. Everything takes its toll on her until she begins drinking heavily and is thought to have gone crazy and placed in a mental hospital. In this story, many things play affect in the contrast of the writing such as Blanche arriving at her sister’s house, seeing her sister’s husbands attitude, the poker game, Blanche getting raped. These events make Blanche an easy victim. In Tennessee Williams, a street car named desire, the start of kindness turns to tragedy and pain.

“Symbols are nothing but the natural speech of drama…the purest language of plays.” Once, quoted as having said this, Tennessee Williams has certainly used symbolism and colour extremely effectively in his play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. A moving story about fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her lapse into insanity, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ contains much symbolism and clever use of colour. This helps the audience to link certain scenes and events to the themes and issues that Williams presents within the play, such as desire and death, and the conflict between the old America and the new.

When looking at the conflict between Miss. Dubois and Mr. Kowalski we the see it is sexual and being from different social classes. They are from different classes because of the way they were raised. Mr. Kowalski was born in to a poor or middle class family whereas Miss. Dubois was born in to a family with money because her and her families owning Belle Reve and many acres, but after all the deaths she lost her family home and money. Which is one of the reasons she goes to visit her sister. Which is when the conflicts start’s. I believe another reason for the conflict is because of their world views Miss. Dubois believes she should be viewed as royalty where as Mr. Kowalski knows he’s polack and common as dirt. Mr. Kowaslski does not believe Miss. Dubois is as fragile as moth and not so different from him which is why he treats her the way he does. Miss. Dubois believes this is an insult to her and her appearance even though she hides her appearance because she does not want Mitch to see her for what she is an old women and a liar. This is another reason Mr. Kowalski has so much conflict with Miss Dubois. If Miss. Dubois would have just told the truth about why she was visiting and why she had to leave Laurel. Then most of the conflict could have been avoid. The only thing Miss. Dubois does not lie about is that she was an English teacher I believe she does not lie about it because it is the one thing in her life that she had complete control of. I also believe her

Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary.

Men: The ones worthy of praise whereas women are just accessories to be flaunted then left in the closet when not worn. Tennessee Williams reinforces this idea throughout the course of the play by the use of the characters Stella, Blanche, Stanley, Steve and Eunice; and their relationships with each other.

Tennessee Williams' Use of Imagery and Symbolism in A Streetcar Named Desire Throughout the play symbolism is used to capture attention and to appeal to viewers' emotions. It is expressed through music, colour and imagery all of which help to heighten tension and reflect the atmosphere created by an impending force.